Recommendation for growing teen?
My son is 13 and already an inch taller than me (he's 5'7"). He's been riding my bike (Hybrid) since he outgrew his 24" (I think), but it'd be great to be able to ride with him.
Of course, he's not done growing either, so I don't want to get him anything too expensive. He's undecided on road vs. mountain style, which inclines me to direct him to road bikes for their versatility, maybe a gravel bike for a little bit of non-paved ability though 99% of his riding will be on the street and paved bike paths - i.e. just getting around town, maybe to school, etc. However, the only inexpensive (<$600) road bikes I've seen are really cheap Walmart stuff, which I don't want to do to him even if he's going to outgrow it in 2 years, not to mention we'd have no idea of fit, etc. like we would if we could try something in a shop.
An entry level MTB would be fine for now, I suppose, as that's more in line with the top of what I'd budget (~$500), and wouldn't be a lost cause as I could likely resell a quality bike much more easily than a Walmart special.
And, of course the pandemic makes all of this more difficult. Supply of new bikes is limited, and the only used sales I can find are folks appearing to scalp the Walmart bikes for above retail. If it was pre-pandemic, I've no doubt I could find a used gravel bike that would be great.
Any recommendations?